View full sizeJim Commentucci / The Post-StandardFayetteville's fire and ambulance station is open again after undergoing extensive renovations. Residents of the town of Manlius who live in the Fayetteville fire district were surprised to see a hefty increase in their taxes to pay for the new station.

Manlius, NY -- When Patricia Oot recently opened her Manlius town tax bill , she was appalled at the nearly $300 jump in her tax for fire protection.

“It went up 58 percent,” Oot said. “I appreciate all the work the fire department does, but this increase is just wrong. It’s taxation without representation. And what’s so unsettling is there seems to be no recourse.”

Oot’s not alone. Residents have been calling town of Manlius officials to complain about the jump in their fire protection district taxes.

The residents didn’t realize if they live in the Fayetteville fire protection district outside the village of Fayetteville they would be paying for the new fire station even though they never got the chance to vote on it. By law, Fayetteville Mayor Mark Olson said only village residents can vote in the referendum because the village bonds for the money and only residents can approve the bonding.

The fire protection tax increase was discussed during town board meetings on the budget, and also was the reason for a tax cap override vote in the town of Manlius, town official said.

“All of a sudden people got their bills in the mail and then they said ‘oh, that’s what was going on’ but then it’s too late,” said Manlius Supervisor Ed Theobald.

The $6.45 million firehouse was approved 336-269 by village residents in 2009. The cost is shared by another estimated 6,000 residents who live outside the village.
Olson said state law dictates a town can’t have a fire department, so it must contract with a village or fire district for protection.

That rubs Oot and other town residents the wrong way. Oot, whose bill for fire protection rose from $558 to $881, said there should have been a special referendum, and to a

“It’s unconstitutional,” she said. “And what next thing will we be taxed for that we can’t vote on? If that’s the law, it needs to be changed, because it’s not right.”

Oot said she paid her town taxes under protest this year.

Barrie Gewanter, director of the Central New York chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said those affected by this have redress through their elected officials on the town board.
“People concerned about this should contact their town board and seek transparency in relation to the contract the town has for fire protection services,” she said.

People also can “inquire as to whether an additional tax levy is permissible when it involves costs related to a new firehouse,” she said.

This year taxpayers are seeing the most impact from the new firehouse because a principal payment and two interest payments were included, Olson said. Next year, the tax increase will be lower.

“ I understand people’s frustration, I truly do,” he said. “But we had to do this. We were cramped and the building was unsafe” because there was so little room for firefighters to move around the equipment.

This year, town residents in the fire protection district are paying about $90 for a home assessed at $100,00 for the fire station. That will decrease to $60 to $70 per $100,000 home next year, Olson said. When the project was presented to voters, they were told it would cost village residents $68 per $100,000 and about $72 per $100,000 home for residents outside the village but in the fire protection district.

Olson said the village never hid the cost and was upfront that there would be an increase. He also said the tax is still lower than surrounding districts including DeWitt and Jamesville.

The mayor said he doesn’t think the town did a good job educating residents. “They failed to communicate the impact of this,” he said.

Theobald, the Manlius supervisor, said the town doesn’t mail newsletters, but discussed the issue on its website and at budget meetings. The town could contract with another fire protection district it if chose to, but that wasn’t discussed this year, he said

“It’s the shock of the increase that hit people, and I don’t’ blame then,” he said. “You just have to kind of look at it like fire insurance.”

Olson said the new fire station was sorely needed as the demands on the firefighters and their equipment have increased. Fayetteville is the busiest fire station in the county, Olson said, with 3,300 calls in 2011 - nearly as much as Minoa and Manlius combined, he said.

“People say the fire station is huge, but it’s utilized,” he said. “When people say it’s too big I invite them on a tour of the station, and they see the services we provide.”

Olson also said the town pays 67 percent of the fire budget, and 85 percent of the calls the department goes on are outside the village limits. The mayor said although the village tried, it didn’t secure any special grants or funding for the fire station.

Oot said the law should be changed. “if we didn’t get to vote on it, why should we have to pay for it,” she said. “This can’t happen again.”